$1.5T Pension Giant Joins BlackRock, Franklin’s Entry into Crypto Tokenization

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As a seasoned crypto investor with a keen eye for industry trends and a knack for spotting opportunities, I can’t help but feel a sense of excitement at the news that Legal & General (L&G) is diving headfirst into the crypto tokenization space. With giants like BlackRock already making significant strides in this area, it’s clear that traditional financial institutions are recognizing the potential benefits of blockchain technology.

The renowned UK pension and investment organization, Legal & General (L&G), with a staggering $1.5 trillion in assets, has stepped into the digital arena of cryptocurrency tokenization, following in the footsteps of industry titans like Blackrock and Franklin Templeton.

L&G Eyes Major Inroads Into Crypto Tokenization

An increasing number of conventional financial institutions are embracing crypto tokenization, a process that converts traditional assets such as U.S. Treasury-backed money-market funds into digital tokens within a blockchain system.

As prominent asset managers like BlackRock join the fray via their BUIDL fund on Ethereum blockchain, this trend toward blockchain adoption is picking up speed. Notable competitors such as Franklin Templeton, State Street, and Abrdn have followed suit by launching comparable initiatives. In response to these advancements, Ed Wicks, head of trading at Legal & General (L&G), expressed his thoughts:

We’re exploring options to convert Legal & General Investment Management Liquidity funds into digital tokens. The digitization of the fund industry is crucial for enhancing efficiency, cutting costs, and providing a diverse set of investment opportunities to more people. We’re excited about the future developments in this area.

Since 2019, the British pension company Legal & General (L&G) has been experimenting with blockchain technology. At that time, the insurer announced its intention to utilize a managed blockchain system from Amazon Web Services (AWS), which allows it to efficiently manage and document large volumes of annuities for its insurance operations.

BlackRock Making Inroads With BUIDL Fund

At the start of this year in March, the world’s leading asset manager, BlackRock, entered the tokenization field by establishing a BUIDL fund on the Ethereum blockchain network. This fund is designed to invest mainly in cash, debt securities, and U.S. Treasury bonds, with a primary focus on utilizing the capabilities of the Ethereum blockchain for these investments.

As a forward-thinking crypto investor, I’ve witnessed numerous key players in our market, such as Circle, embracing innovation by incorporating smart contract capabilities. This development empowers BlackRock BUIDL shareholders like myself with the opportunity to exchange their shares for the USDC stablecoin seamlessly.

In light of recent advancements, it appears that the world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock, is making efforts to contest the market dominance held by Circle and Tether in the stablecoin sector. Last week, BlackRock unveiled a partnership with brokerage firm Securitize, enabling the use of its BUIDL token on prominent derivatives market platforms such as Binance, OKX, and Deribit. This move signifies another step taken by BlackRock to broaden the application of the BUIDL token within the financial market.

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2024-10-21 14:14